Athletic containment walls such as skating rink walls are considered to be dasherboards that are typically made of wood or fiberglass. As a result, dasherboard panels can be heavy and difficult to transport, assemble and adjust. In addition, dasherboard systems are designed to permanently affix to the ground and do not have bracing options that allow the dasherboards to be portable.
One reference, U.S. Pat. No. 5,863,030, issued Jan. 26, 1999, attempts to address the issues described above by providing a containment wall system that includes an assembly of panels, each panel having a first edge, an opposing second edge, and interlocking members configured and arranged for (i) interlocking the first edge to a first adjacent panel and (ii) interlocking the second edge to a second adjacent panel via coupling means such as anchoring rods that anchor into ground surfaces. Support legs are rotatably disposed on a back wall of the panels. Each support leg is removably attachable to at least three different attachment sites at the back wall of a panel. The interlocking, modular design of the containment wall enables quick and easy assembly and reassembly, as well as modification to form doorways, sitting areas and similar component structures. In one embodiment, the rear side of the panel includes a recess formed therein. During periods of nonuse, the support leg can be rotated into the recess in a storage position, permitting easy stacking and storage of the panels with the support legs neatly disposed in the rear recesses.
Problems associated with the above portable containment wall systems may involve damage to the anchoring rods, such as bending or breakage, difficult dowel removal, and instability of support legs due to their removable and rotational disposition on the panel.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for providing a portable athletic containment wall system that is stable and easy to assemble and reassemble.